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Mohamed Salah will not get his chance at earning revenge on the pitch against Sergio Ramos when Liverpool take on Real Madrid in the Champions League following news that the 35-year-old central defender would miss a month due to injury.
It’s an unexpected blow for Ramos and Madrid, with the player picking up a calf injury after coming on as a late substitute for Spain on Wednesday evening against Kosovo. Following his return to his club, Madrid announced he is expected to be out for all of April.
In the 2018 Champions League final, Ramos performed locked on to Salah’s arm and tackled the Liverpool forward to the ground, pinning the arm and dislocating Salah’s shoulder in the process. Liverpool would go on to lose the game 3-1.
The next year, Liverpool made up for the defeat, beating Tottenham in the 2019 Champions League final and winning their sixth European Cup, but a quarter final battle between the Reds and Los Blancos this year still carried narrative weight due to 2018’s incident.
Now, Madrid will be without their captain when they take on Liverpool, with the first leg of the quarter final tie set to be played in Madrid on April 6th before moving to Anfield on the 14th of the month for the second leg.